Legal Question in Family Law in California
A friend is going through a difficult divorce. She has worked perhaps 3 years of the 7.5 year marriage (pregnancies and child care). The family was supported by the $5k in worker's comp monthly payments her ex receives. He now wants alimony from her, claiming worker's comp is for medical only, not living expenses. In actual fact, during the marriage those payments were used to support the family, even when my friend was working, mostly part time. The only current medical bills are painkillers her ex has been slowly tapering off- there are no other ongoing medical treatments. Her income is less than the w.c. payments. Does worker's comp count as income for divorce and alimony purposes?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I've posted on this issue before.
Workers' compensations benefits have traditionally been characterized for purposes of determining community property by analogy to personal injury damages. (In re Marriage of McDonald (1975) 52 Cal.App.3d 509.)
In McDonald, the Court of Appeal held that a workers' compensation lump sum award pursuant to a settlement agreement received by an injured spouse after a marital separation was the injured spouse's separate property.
Personal injury awards are not per se separate property. "Except as provided in Section 781 and subject to the rules of allocation set forth in Section 2603, money and other property received or to be received by a married person in satisfaction of a judgment for damages for personal injuries, or pursuant to an agreement for the settlement or compromise of a claim for such damages, is community property if the cause of action for the damages arose during the marriage." (Fam. Code, sect. 780.)
Personal injury awards are analyzed by when the cause of action arose. Case law regarding worker's compensation awards, however, are analyzed by reference to when the payments are made. Thus, workers' compensation payments made to a spouse during marriage have been considered community property. (Northwestern Redwood Co. v. Industrial Accident Comm'sn (1920) 184 Cal. 484, 486.; In re Marriage of Robinson (1976) 54 CAl.App.3d 682, 684-686.)
More recently, courts have begun to analyze the worker's compensation awards by comparing them to disability benefits, rather than personal injury benefits, and have examined the purpose of the payments to determine whether the compensation received by an injured spouse is community or separate property. "We hold that the portion of such an award attributable to disability or pension payments owed during the marriage or medical expenses paid with community funds is community property, but the remainder of the award is the injured spouse's separate property." (Raphael v. Bloomfield (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 617, 622.)
So the answer to your question depends on when the payment was received, and the underlying nature or characterization of the award.
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